In
the weeks leading up to the draft, Perfect Game will be providing a
detailed overview of each state in the U.S., including the District
of Columbia, as well as Canada and Puerto Rico. These overviews will
list the state's strengths, weaknesses and the players with the best
tools, as well as providing scouting reports on all Group 1 and 2
players as ranked in Perfect Game's state-by-state scouting lists.

New Hampshire State-by-State List2011 New Hampshire Overview
New
Hampshire Overview:Little
Draftable Talent in State, but Intriguing HeadlinesNew
Hampshire may not produce a premium-round draft pick this year like
it did in 2011, when prep righthander Jordan Cote was selected in the
third round by the New York Yankees, or the volume of draft picks
after nine players from state colleges and high schools were taken,
but it has been an eventful 2012 season nonetheless.
The
biggest headlines focused on the sudden emergence of Southern New
Hampshire as a legitimate college force in the state, and the trials
and tribulations surrounding state power Portsmouth High and its
national prep winning streak.
From
seven wins in 2008, the year before Scott Loiseau became coach,
Southern New Hampshire progressed to a school-record 25 wins in 2011,
and shattered that mark this season in going 43-15 while making its
first appearance in the NCAA Division II World Series. Moreover,
junior lefthander Tim Flight was selected the D-II pitcher of the
year, and he and senior righthander Brad Monroe are the favorites to
be the first two players drafted from New Hampshire this year.
Southern
New Hampshire upstaged traditional state D-II power Franklin Pierce
(38-19), which had made five D-II World Series appearances over the
last decade, but pulled up short this spring as injuries to its two
best pitching prospects, junior righthanders Ryan Thompson and Joe
Flinn, crippled its chances of another trip to the national
tournament. Either one of those arms could have been the first player
drafted in the state this year, had they been 100 percent healthy.
Thompson,
a Canadian who began his college career at the University of
Connecticut, went 5-2, 3.47 (57 IP, 32 BB/51 SO), but was a shadow of
the pitcher he was a year ago when he was picked in the 36th-round
by the Yankees after posting an 11-1, 1.23 record (95 IP, 13 BB/114
SO) with a fastball up to 94 mph. He was plagued by ongoing shoulder
and elbow issues this spring. Flinn was off to an excellent start at
4-0, 1.40 (39 IP, 11 BB/47 SO) before succumbing to Tommy John
surgery. In their absence, outfielder James Roche, who played out his
final year of eligibility as a graduate student for FPU after
transferring from D-II Bentley (Mass.), could become the school’s
best draft. He impressed scouts with three intriguing tools,
especially his raw power, while hitting .361-17-61.
Dartmouth,
the state’s only Division I college program, won a school-record 30
games in 2011, but fell a little short this season at 24-18. It still
reached the Ivy League’s best-of-3 championship series, only to
lose 2-1 to Cornell on a walk-off home run in the 11th inning in the third and deciding game, to fall a step short of its
third NCAA regional bid in four years. The Big Green has no
legitimate draft picks, although catcher Chris O’Dowd, son of
Colorado Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd, could be a late-round
selection of the Rockies. O’Dowd hit just .239-1-15 this year after
getting his Dartmouth career off to an auspicious start as a freshman
by hitting .384 with six homers.
At
the high-school level, Portsmouth High broke the national record of
75 wins in a row a year ago, finishing the season at 83 (and
counting) while winning its fourth straight state Division II state
championship. Last summer, an Iowa high-school team, Martensdale-St.
Marys, eclipsed that mark by winning 87 in a row. Portsmouth then
went out this spring and reclaimed the record while extending the
mark to 89, before finally losing its first game in five years. Its
hopes of a fifth straight state title were very much alive as
Portsmouth (17-1) had advanced to the state semi-finals as this was
written. Interestingly, Martensdale-St. Marys, which didn’t begin
its 2012 season until May 21, had a golden opportunity to reclaim the
national record for consecutive wins yet again, but lost its second
game, ending its streak at 88, one short of Portsmouth’s mark.
Even
with its impressive run of success, Portsmouth High does not have a
draftable prospect of note, although Southern New Hampshire’s
Flight is a product of that school.New
Hampshire in a nutshell:
STRENGTH:
College arms.WEAKNESS:
High-school talent.OVERALL
RATING
(1-to-5 scale): 3.BEST
COLLEGE TEAM:
Southern New Hampshire.BEST
HIGH SCHOOL TEAM:
Concord HS.BEST
OUT-OF-STATE PROSPECT, New Hampshire Connection:
Billy Ferriter, of, University of Connecticut (Attended high school
in Nashua).Top
2013 Prospect:
Mitch Horacek, lhp, Dartmouth University.Top2014
Prospect:
Matt Walsh, c, Franklin Pierce.HIGHEST
DRAFT PICKS
Draft
History:
Chris Carpenter, rhp, Trinity HS, Manchester (1993, Blue Jays/1st round, 15th pick).2006
Draft: Jeff
Locke, lhp, Kennett HS, Center Conway (Braves/2nd round).2007
Draft: Keith
Renaud, rhp, Franklin Pierce College (Mariners/10th round).2008
Draft: Damon
Wright, of, Dartmouth College (Giants/25th round).2009
Draft: Nick
Santomauro, of, Dartmouth College (Mets/10th round).2010
Draft:
Jose Macias, rhp, Franklin Pierce College (Athletics/18th round).2011
Draft: Jordan
Cote, rhp, Winnisquam Regional HS, Tilton (Yankees/3rd round).2011
DRAFT OVERVIEW
College
Players Drafted/Signed:
7/6.High
School Players Drafted/Signed:
2/2.TOP
PROSPECTS, GROUPS ONE and TWONonePROSPECTS TO WATCH
TIM FLIGHT , lhp,
Southern New Hampshire University (RS-Jr.); Brad Monroe, rhp,
Southern New Hampshire University (Sr.)Flight and Monroe
joined the Southern New Hampshire program together a year after it
endured a seven-win season in 2008, and were key contributors this
season as the Penmen shattered their school record for wins (43 vs.
25 in 2011). The 6-foot-4, 180-pound Flight dominated in going 9-1,
1.31 with 140 strikeouts in 103 innings, while the 6-foot-2,
190-pound Monroe was an effective complement at the top of the SNHU
rotation, going 8-3, 2.48 with 101 strikeouts in 91
innings—impressive numbers by any standard, but aided to a degree
by Southern New Hampshire’s participation in a wood-bat league.
Flight’s accomplishment may have been the more noteworthy
considering he was red-shirted as a freshman and went just 1-1, 12.46
a year later. With a fastball that typically sat at 86-88 mph this
spring, but was as low as 83-84 on some days and touched 90-91 on
others, Flight doesn’t throw quite as hard as Monroe, so has less
margin for error. But he’ll flash impressive command, even as he
walked 39 this spring, and his breaking ball has good depth, and is
equally effective against both lefthanded and righthanded hitters.
His change is considered too firm to be an effective third offering,
and he’ll need to work on adding more differential between that
pitch and his fastball. Monroe, meanwhile, reached 93 mph this spring
when pitching occasionally in relief, though his fastball was
typically at 89-91 mph as a starter. He should be a good senior sign
from the Northeast in this year’s draft.